History

• Women's tennis apparel has evolved considerably since its early design. Initially, women wore full-length dresses. Some of these dresses incorporated fashionable elements of the time, including a bustle and fur. All were heavy material and often unwieldy. In the early 1900s, the clothing began to change, minimizing the unsuitable fashionable elements and adjusting to calf-length hems. In the 1930s, shorter dresses were worn that were of a lighter weight material. Today, designers and athletes alike are involved in the creation of tennis apparel for women. Athletes like the Williams sisters have lines of clothing and top-end designers such as Stella McCartney have entered into this apparel market.
  
  

Function

• Women's tennis apparel needs to fulfill two functions simultaneously: you want look good on the court as well as wear garments supportive of sport. It can be challenging for designers to fulfill both of these needs at once. Fabrics are typically ultra-modern wicking and support fabrics to enable good play, but they also need to be cut and designed well so that they flatter most figures.
  
  

Types

• There are three basic types of women's tennis apparel: the dress, the skirt and the top. While some players may wear sweat pants or shorts, most players prefer the option and freedom of movement offered by a tennis skirt. Skirts typically follow an A-line or are designed with kick pleats that enable free leg movemement. A critical part of the skirt is the panty that provides coverage under your skirt. You can buy these separately, but most top-end skirts include it as part of the overall design and the panty is often a coordinating color. This is your best bet as playing with separate pieces can leave you spending more time fussing with your garments than pounding your serve. A dress is an option for some players, but it's a specialized garment and can inhibit movement, especially during the toss for your serve. Make sure to move vigorously when trying it on to be sure it has all the movement you need. The top can be either a tank top style or polo-style. Tank top styles often incorporate a built-in bra.
  Few clubs have rigorous rules about garments, most rules focus on the sole of your shoe--non-marking soles only on clay courts.
  
  

Effects

• Tennis is a mental game, so feeling stylish on the court can give you an edge. And with moisture-wicking fabric, you can still look reasonably fresh after a few sets of tennis as you head upstairs for lunch. Tennis skirts are also part of a busy lifestyle--most tennis skirts provide enough coverage that you can also run errands before or after your game and feel confident.
  
  

Expert Insight

• Though the most popular color for women's tennis apparel is white, there are myriad colors from which to choose. If you're just starting out, get the basics--a black tennis skirt and navy tennis skirt (with panty) and two tennis tops. Avoid anything too colorful or ornate as you can build that into your wardrobe later, once you've decided to invest in more tennis gear. Buy from top-level designers, like Nike or Adidas, their garments flatter and will last through the many washes. Buy good shoes, too, that are designed specifically for supporting your feet and ankles during tennis; again, consider top-flight designers like Nike and Adidas as they're specialized research leads to products that you can rely on for your sport.